Promoted Listings

[vintagephotoprints]

I am selling in Art/Prints with 1,750 listings. My last listings quality report said that there were no recommended changes to make and I am 3rd in impressions from more than 22k sellers in this category.

I just switched from manual promoted listings to E-bays auto system and I seem to have disappeared from searches. The top 25 results are mostly occupied by a seller who has never sold a print, has no item specifics listed at all, has 40% negative feedback from their entire 11 feedbacks, does not offer returns and has yellow photos:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1312&_nkw=bruce+weber&_sacat=360&LH...

I am about to get my top seller plus badge this month and am scratching my head about these search results.

[mn467462]

I would suggest never willingly giving ebay more of your money. Because ebay still takes their fee, which includes what they take in promoted listings. Plus you get taxed on the total sale. It's really horrible. 

[vintagephotoprints]

Forgot to mention that they also do not have a store

[redlinear]

Pick a couple of high priced items of yours.  Double the price.  Then promote those items at 20%.
Promote the rest like you normally would.
Send offers to watchers.
Maybe run a % off sale also.
Go thru your listings, open, close them.  (seems to help).
   My listings and search results do the same as yours (on and off).   It's as if eBay is trying to spread the wealth letting everybody have a little piece of the action. (even if they don't deserve it as much).  
To me, a search result is almost lottery in nature, spin the bottle.

The one sure way to sell more is to sell more.   When you start selling a few things, do anything you can to keep the ball rolling.  

[tobaccocardyahoo · Accepted solution]

What you are seeing is disturbing, but is it really a problem?

I would expect some level of seasonality in your sales.

I would expect that Ebay algorithms may take into account top level categories and the results of auto promotion differ from manual for any specific sub-category.

Since your items seem to hold much in common with other people's items which have suffered poor sales in the past week or two, it may be too soon to tell if something is happening which will affect your sales.

And I do not expect that being a top seller plus will help your sales by much. I dropped a level from top ranked without any negative impact on my sales.

It does not look like you are having head to head competition for specific prints, and I would expect your sales are coming from far more specific search results on Ebay, and external sources.

[tdar24219]

i think the promoted listing is an ebay scam. i was making thousands of dollars selling the same items. Over the last year ive barely made 200 bucks a month. I put in a complaint telling them i would never sign up for promoted listings and give them an additional 10% for something i cannot verify them doing. Within 2 days i received 6 sales. Which is what i typically had a year ago. I knew they had  put my items lower in the search. They had no reason to do that. I have 100% positive feedback and above standard ratings, no cases, no returns. Just a great account over the years. I get so tired of the tricks they use on us. Im consulting with outside resources about this.